Welcome! Come in!
Future you will be looking fondly back in time and praising you for finding this resource. Well done, present-day you!
What Even Is This Thing?
Good question. Let’s dig in.
Even though the idea that people have built-in learning styles (visual, kinesthetic, auditory) is definitely not real (see The Learning Styles as a Myth), that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn with style, right? This program aims to help anyone become a more confident, independent, and well-rounded online learner. It’s about you liberating yourself to be able to squeeze all the learning you need out of any learning situation that you find yourself in. You can do a little of it, or a lot. Take what you need. This is for you.
The 4 distinct module areas that have been identified as the “liberated learner” framework skills are described below. You can click the little triangle to see a description of each.
Learner
That’s pretty obvious, right? That’s why this is the opening, fundamental module of the program. In it you will get help figuring things out in the areas of motivation and engagement, awareness of yourself, academic balance, and academic struggles.
Technologist
As a student, your “technology toolbox” is often filled with tools that you didn’t choose, but you need to know how to use anyway. This module aims to help you not only learn the tools you’re asked to use, but also have some of your own tools and skills at the ready for when you do get the chance to be creative.
Navigator
Every institution, every program, even every course has its own unique pathways (and barriers) to success. This module wants to help you navigate your way through it by focusing on time management, wellness and awareness, and accessing the information and services available to you.
Collaborator
Most people will recognize that the world is ever increasingly connected and collaborative. But on the other hand group work is, let’s face it, not everyone’s favourite thing ever. In this module are opportunities to enhance your skill in collaborative organization, self-advocacy, allyship, and networking in order to make the most of collaborative experiences.
Have a look through the slides below (you can click through yourself) to see a little more about what you’d be getting yourself into by doing these modules. You can take any path you want through the 4 modules. If you’re not sure where to start, we’d recommend the Learner Module.
Where Did This Come From?
The Liberated Learner program has an “ancestor” in the Ontario Extend Empowered Educator program. The original program aims to empower educators in 6 areas (teacher, technologist, collaborator, curator, experimenter, scholar). You can likely see the inspiration that was taken when we chose the 4 areas for the Liberated Learner framework. So, just like the Empowered Educator framework aims to help educators be ready to teach in a digital age, the Liberated Learner aims to help learners to learn in that same world.
This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and through eCampusOntario’s support of the Virtual Learning Strategy. To learn more about the Virtual Learning Strategy visit: https://vls.ecampusontario.ca.
